Heavy Duty Trucking, July 2019

FUTURE FLEET HDT JULY 2019 28 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM Daimler Trucks says its going to have highly automated trucks in production within a decade and its launched a new global business unit to help make it happen The company announced in late May that it is founding a new business unit dedicated to the research development and eventual deployment of autonomous vehicle technology for commercial vehicles The new Autonomous Technology Group is a global organization that brings together Daimlers worldwide expertise and activities into a new business unit Its main task will be the overall strategy and implementation of the automated driving roadmap including research and development as well as setting up the required operations infrastructure and network all heading toward the series production of highly automated trucks Daimler said in a press release The company is is investing more than 570 million in this technology as it begins to move toward Level 4 autonomous vehicle systems which Daimler said is the logical next step after level 2 to increase safety as well as efficiency and productivity Peter Vaughan Schmidt previously head of strategy for Daimler Trucks will lead this new cross divisional organization He has 15 years of experience in the industry and in his previous position was responsible for the development of Daimler Trucks strategy on automated vehicles Software development for highly automated driving will be one of the key activities of the new group as well as redundant systems in the chassis enabling the vehicles systems to take over roles of a professional driver while on the road Other research and development aspects will focus on automated driving sensor integration camera lidar radar which together with a very accurate map are responsible for ensuring that the highly automated truck finds its own way on the road In the first stage the company will focus on use cases of highly automated driving in defined areas and between defined hubs in the United States Vaughan Schmidt said In doing so we will work closely together with customers whose business matches this automated driving application We will not only develop the respective technology but also set up the required operations infrastructure and network Virginia based Torc Robotics will be part of the newly established Autonomous Technology Group pending the authorities approval of the acquisition recently announced by Daimler Trucks Is the vehicle a bus Or a truck What if its both depending upon requirements Thats the thinking behind Swedish truck maker Scanias new NXT concept vehicle a modularly designed self driving electric vehicle that can change configurations to meet varying urban fleet requirements The NXT features front and rear drive modules that can be fitted to a bus body a distribution truck body or a refuse collector It could be a commuter bus in the morning and evening a refuse truck overnight and handle last mile delivery during the day The 8 meter 26 foot bus module is built as one composite unit substantially reducing weight Scania said A bank of cylindrical cell batteries are placed under the floor to make use of otherwise dead space while contributing to overall weight distribution for the vehicle The NXT tips the scales at less than 17600 pounds Scania said the range of it present day batteries is estimated at 150 miles on a single charge Scania designers said the concept vehicle is a way of calling attention to the 24 7 flow of people and goods in cities which the OEM said needs to be coherently addressed rather than disparately planned Currently Scania said logistics flows in cities are far from being optimized because goods are delivered during the morning rush hour while most people are also on the move In Europe commercial transport is largely barred from city centers during nights when people are asleep to keep noise levels down Scania believes that a new generation of vehicles like the NXT based on common chassis and powertrains that can be quickly reconfigured to switch from different applications based on fleet needs or the time of day is one way of addressing these problems Daimler establishes autonomous vehicle technology business unit Scanias reconfigurable urban vehicle concept control of some more mundane operations to a computer easing the constant stress that often comes with driving and allowing them to focus more on larger more immediate safety and driving situations without any corresponding degradation in safety Two things can be true at once And I think that sums up the state of play for autonomous technology now There is still a lot of work to be done before well see robot trucks roaming the country without any humans onboard But the systems that will one day lead to those robot trucks are already starting to make life easier and safer for professional truck drivers Daimler says its recent majority stake acquisition of Torc Robotics will help it create a technology powerhouse for automated trucks Scanias NXT concept vehicle features front and rear drive modules that can be fitted to a bus body a distribution truck body or a refuse collector PHOTO DAIMLER TRUCKS NORTH AMERICA PHOTO SCANIA

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